Quote:
Originally Posted by a_Username
This really depends on how you define a hybrid. If you call a hybrid a vehicle that is powered, rather directly or indirectly, by two different sources (gas/electric) then the Volt is a hybrid. However, if you believe there must be a direct link between the gasoline engine (without the middleman that the generator is) and the wheels then this is an EV.
I for one do not feel like I've been lied to at all. To me, GM simply added a hybrid "safeguard" to guarantee capability and efficiency. IMO, I'd rather have this safeguard than the pride of knowing I have an EV, defined by very broad criteria I might add, while I'm stranded on the side of the road.
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There are 2 there are two types of hybrid, series and parallel. If you can run gas only, electric only, or gas
and electric you have a parallel hybrid. If you can run electric only, but use the gas engine to power the electric motors, its a series hybrid. Neither system has a maximum or minumum limit on electric only range before using the gas engine. Some parallel hybrids don't have an extra battery, they just use the regular battery under the hood. Meanwhile there are series hybrids that don't have a battery either, the limited storage requirements are taken care of with capacitors. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the plug in Prius and the Volt which can each go for miles and miles electrically, but in theory may never need gasoline. But its still a hybrid drivetrain.
The Volt is a hybrid. Supposedly, it was to be a series hybrid but it looks like it has a parallel capability too. Either way, its a hybrid and not an EV.